ARCADIA, Calif. - They went 1 3/4 miles, and yet it was only an inch or two that separated victory from defeat Friday in the . On the wire, it was the aptly named Man of Iron beating Cloudy's Knight in an exciting opening to the 2009 Breeders' Cup series at Santa Anita.
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Owner Ken Ramsey and trainer Michael Maker have decided to scratch Kera's Kitten from Saturday's in order to run Dean's Kitten in the race. Dean's Kitten was on the also-eligible list, and needed one scratch to get into the race.
"We decided this morning that Kera's Kitten was a little bit away from running his best and we have a better shot with Dean's Kitten," said Ramsey, who also has Becky's Kitten in the race.
ARCADIA, Calif. - It will take decades for someone to surpass the milestone that French trainer Freddie Head can achieve if Goldikova wins Saturday's $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita. A victory would make Head the only person to win the same Breeders' Cup race twice as a trainer and twice as a jockey.
Goldikova is the defending champion of the BC Mile, which was held at this track in 2008. For Head, it was his third BC Mile win. He rode Miesque to consecutive wins in 1987-88 at Hollywood Park and Churchill Downs.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Zenyatta's first appearance on the racetrack and a half-mile breeze by defending Mile champ Goldikova highlighted Thursday morning's activity. Zenyatta did little more than gallop an easy mile and visit the paddock, while Goldikova went an easy half-mile in 51.95 seconds behind stablemate Only Green, who cruised the same distance in 52.72.
The following are some of the observations I've made after watching a majority of Saturday's Breeders' Cup contenders train at Santa Anita over the past week.
JUVENILE TURF
ARCADIA, Calif. - The $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile was never going to be easy for unbeaten Lookin at Lucky, but no one expected it to be this hard.
Lookin at Lucky enters the 1 1/16-mile Juvenile with a perfect record, three graded stakes, and Grade 1 form going two turns on Pro-Ride. So why isn't he the biggest cinch on the Saturday card? Because Lookin at Lucky starts from the parking lot - post 13 in a 13-horse field.
"I don't like it," trainer Bob Baffert stated. "It is going to be tough."
ARCADIA, Calif. - California Flag is as fast as they come, but he was pretty slow to scare anyone out of the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.
"If California Flag is the favorite," said John Sadler, who will send out two starters Saturday in the $1 million BC Turf Sprint at Santa Anita, "then I know I fit."
ARCADIA, Calif. - Conduit returns to the scene of his greatest international triumph at Santa Anita on Saturday when he defends his title in the $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf, a race in which he paid $13.60 last year as the somewhat under-the-radar winner of the St. Leger Stakes.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Had Rip Van Winkle been unable to make it to the Breeders' Cup Classic, few would have quibbled had his connections opted to run Mastercraftsman in the $5 million race Saturday at Santa Anita.
In the end, owners Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, and Susan Magnier along with trainer Aiden O'Brien felt the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile was the better option.
ARCADIA, Calif. - All was going well for Interactif leading up to Saturday's $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, until Tuesday's post position draw when he was saddled with post 11.
"It would have been my 11th choice, but it is what it is," Todd Pletcher, the trainer of Interactif, said.
Post position notwithstanding, Pletcher is extremely excited about running Interactif in the Juvenile Turf, which is the second race of the card Saturday but the first of eight Breeders' Cup races. The race drew an overflow field of 14, but will run with 12.
ARCADIA, Calif. - A foot abscess will prevent the longshot Allegre from starting in Saturday's $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf at Santa Anita.
The scratch of Allegre was announced on Thursday afternoon. Trainer Brian Koriner said the setback will keep Allegre out of training "for a couple of weeks."
"It's a big, ugly abscess," Koriner said. "We tried to cover it up [with a shoe]. We didn't want to take a chance if he couldn't train 100 percent sound."